Water entered Toronto food venues after Caledon producer shut down in July for high bacteria levels.

Dr. David McKeown, Toronto Public Health's medical officer of health, said Friday that it is impossible to know whether there could be more of the Blue Glass Water Co. product still available in the marketplace.

More than 2,000 bottles of water from a Caledon producer shut down in July because of its bacteria-tainted product have been found in Toronto restaurants, hotels and a health food store in recent weeks.

In an exclusive interview with the Star, Toronto’s medical officer of health, Dr. David McKeown, said Friday it is impossible to know whether there could be more of the banned product still out there.

“We don’t have a complete and accurate distribution list (because) it has not been provided by the operator,” he said. “So, in terms of the challenges of responding, it’s more complex than other such cases.”

Marshall Kazman, the only listed director of Blue Glass Water Co. Ltd. in Ontario corporate filings, has dismissed the allegations in interviews with the Star, calling his water safe and naturally infused with cancer-fighting properties.

The disbarred lawyer, who is currently facing criminal fraud charges, called the ordered shutdown of his facility “a witch hunt” and “much ado about nothing.”

He said he has not shipped his product since being ordered closed in July.

“If there was a real danger would you not think a recall would have been ordered months ago?” he said in a statement Saturday.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which originally tested the water along with Peel Region in late July, found “elevated levels of aerobic colony counts” in some samples, it said in a statement to the Star.

The tests did not show pathogens such as E. coli or parasites, it says.

“Based on the absence of an identified hazard and the contained exposure . . . the CFIA determined that a risk assessment was not needed and as such, no recall action was requested.”

The level of concern about the water is much higher among provincial and local health officials.

Officials at both levels have told the Star that testing of the company’s water revealed it was “heavily contaminated” and “unfit to drink.”

The “overgrowth of bacteria” in the water “masked” identification of specific pathogens such as E. coli and coliform, said the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Arlene King.

The Star first reported health concerns about serious contamination in Blue Glass Water on Thursday, a threat nearly three months old that had not been made public.

That lack of public notification meant the water continued to be served to unwitting customers across southern Ontario even as health officials were quietly looking for the water in food establishments for confiscation.

But beginning in mid-September, inspectors did start spotting the company’s bottles in food establishments across the city.

Toronto Public Health sent six of those bottles for testing on Sept. 19, said McKeown.

Five days later, on Sept. 24, the results were in: Three of the samples tested positive for elevated levels of bacteria, said McKeown.

“The bacteria had grown in sufficient numbers so that they couldn’t isolate a specific pathogen,” he said.

What was certain is that the water, “clearly shouldn’t be consumed,” he said. “It’s not fit. It doesn’t meet any kind of standard.”

Kazman disputes the allegations, saying the tests indicated the company’s carbonated water was entirely safe and that, while they showed elevated bacteria in its spring water, the results, “are not an indicator of water safety” or potential health hazards.

While inspectors in Toronto continued to search for more of the water across the city, their counterparts in neighbouring regions were also finding the water being served to the public.

More than 40 bottles of Blue Glass Water turned up in a Hamilton restaurant. Inspectors in Niagara found the water in six area wineries.

With consumers — and potential consumers — of the water still in the dark, talks began among health officials about issuing a public warning.

“There were conversations between ourselves and others in the province about what the next steps should logically be,” said McKeown. “We were working through this.”

On Oct. 1, with a steady flow of Blue Glass Water shipments turning up across Toronto, McKeown says he wrote a letter to King, the province’s chief health officer, urging a public warning be issued.

“It’s just a principal of making people aware when there’s a potential risk,” he said. “We probably did as much or more to take the product out of circulation. But it’s important to have a notification.”

In an interview with the Star this week, King said she was finally prompted to issue a public warning based on evidence from Toronto that Blue Glass Water was breaching an order to cease production and shipping.

Asked why she didn’t act sooner when July test results revealed a clear public health risk, she said local health units were managing the problem at the time.

The multi-jurisdictional aspect of this case added complexity that may have delayed public notice, McKeown said.

“It would clearly be simpler if we were acting alone and responding to a local issue,” he said. “Any time you need co-ordination between multiple agencies, it’s more complex.”

Kazman told the Star he has appealed the shutdown of his operation and, if successful, hopes to resume production.

“We at Blue Glass Water are working diligently with the appropriate levels of government to ensure our facility will meet all government regulations,” his Saturday statement reads. “We are very committed to bringing you the very best natural spring water products on the market as soon as possible and apologize for any undue concern and fears caused by the unnecessary and unfortunate media releases.”

So far, Toronto inspectors have found Blue Glass Water in 20 food establishments, ranging from high-end restaurants to a hotel and a health food store.

The city is not identifying the establishments since they no longer serve the water and “they did nothing wrong,” said McKeown.

nger serve the water and “they did nothing wrong,” said McKeown.

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